BROOME COUNTY ONLINE

SEPTIC SYSTEM INSTALLER TRAINING

TABLE OF CONTENTS• INTRODUCTION• WASTEWATER & DISEASE• GENERAL OVERVIEW OF SEPTIC SYSTEMS• SEPARATION DISTANCES• CONSTRUCTION PROCESS• APPLICATION• UNNECESSARY INSPECTIONS• DIG SAFELY NY• SITE EVALUATION (SOIL CUT)• SEPTIC TANK & SYSTEM DESIGN & SIZE• COMMON PROBLEMS• AERATION UNITS• INSPECTION FORM

INTRODUCTION• PURPOSE: TO DEVELOP AN EXISTING INDIVIDUAL

RESIDENTIAL SEPTIC SYSTEM THAT CORRESPONDS TO THE ENGINEERING SPECIFICATIONS AND DESIGN STANDARDS SET FORTH BY THE NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & BROOME COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT.

• PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF THE COMMISSIONER OF HEALTH BY SECTION 201 (1)(l) OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH LAW, APPENDIX 75-A WASTEWATER TREATMENT STANDARDS -INDIVIDUAL HOUSEHOLD SYSTEMS, AND CHAPTER 11 OF TITLE 10 (HEALTH) OF THE OFFICIAL COMPILATION OF CODES, RULES & REGULATIONS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

• DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH’S ADMINISTRATIVE RULE’S & REGULATIONS

design standard (10NYCRR APPENDIX 75-A)

WASTEWATER & DISEASEby Mike Dill, Wastewater Trainer (NYS Rural Water)

When you are asked about the cost of treatment and why is it so expensive, your reply could be some historical notes:

• 1700 BC Ahead of his time by a few thousand years, King Minos of Crete had running water in his bathrooms in the palace at Knossos. Although there is no evidence of plumbing and sewage systems at several ancient sites, including ancient Rome, their use did not become widespread until modern times.

WASTEWATER & DISEASE (cont.)

• 1817 A major epidemic of cholera hit Calcutta, India after a national festival. The numbers are not very accurate, however if was estimated that there were at least 10,000 fatalities. The epidemic then spread to other counties and to the US and Canada by 1832. The governor of NY quarantined the Canadian border in a vain effort to stop the epidemic. When cholera reached NY city, people were so frightened they either fled or stayed inside, leaving the city streets deserted.

• 1854 A London, England physician, Dr. John Snow, demonstrated that cholera deaths in an area of the city could all be traced to a common well that was contaminated, within the area of the city, with sewage.

WASTEWATER & DISEASE (cont.)

• 1859 The British Parliament was suspended during the summer because of the stench coming from the Thames river. According to one account, the river began to “seethe and ferment under the burning sun.”

• 1892 The comma-shaped bacteria that causes cholera was identified by German scientist Robert Koch. His discovery proved the relationship between contaminated water and the disease.

• 1939 60 people died in an outbreak of typhoid fever at Manteno State Hospital in Illinois. The cause was traced to a sewer line passing too close to the hospital’s water supply.

WASTEWATER & DISEASE (cont.)

• 1940 A valve was accidently opened causing polluted water from the Genesee river to be pumped into the Rochester, NY water supply. Approximately 35,000 cases of gastroenteritis and 6 cases of typhoid fever were reported.

• 1955 Water containing a large amount of sewage was blamed for overwhelming a water treatment plant and causing an epidemic of hepatitis in Delhi, India. An estimated 1 million people were infected.

• 1958 The Androscoggin river in Western Maine catches fire from chemicals discharged from a paper mill treatment facility.

WASTEWATER & DISEASE (cont.)

• 1993 An outbreak of cryptosporidiosis in Milwaukee claimed 104 lives and infected more than 400,000 people.

This is the short list. Many will be quick to say this was caused by sewage; however this was NOT caused by properly TREATED sewage. So when the question arises, why so much… the answer is, we can’t afford not to. Remember that sooner of later, someone’s discharge becomes someone else’s intake.

Diseases caused by pathogens in Sewage

• Cholera• Hepatitis A• Giardiasis• Typhoid Fever• Viral Diarrhea

• Poliomyelitis• Amoebic Dysentery• Fascioliasis• Ascariasis

SEPTIC SYSTEMGENERAL INFORMATION w/ O & M

GENERAL INFORMATION w/ O & M – Cont.

SeparationDistances

CONSTRUCTION PROCESS

• Application completed and fee paid ($190)• Site evaluation by BCHD (contractor needed)

except when installing an aerator which needs no site evaluation

• Specifications sent to homeowner• Contractor begins construction• Inspections by BCHD (up to 2 required)• Contractor completes construction• Approval issued by BCHD

Application

An oversight on the part of a septic system installer that results in a re-inspection is

termed unnecessary. Items which will result in an unnecessary re-inspection include but

are not limited to those listed below.

• The installer does not appear for a previously scheduled site evaluation

• The installer does not call the BCHD when he will not be ready for a previously scheduled inspection

• The installer fails to meet any one of the various separation distance requirements

• Varying the system as specified without prior approval from the BCHD

Unnecessary inspections (con’t.)

• The installer fails to provide chlorine tablets in sand filter chlorinators

• The installer fails to provide sufficient sand depth in a sand filter

• The installer fails to provide water for leveling the distribution box

• The installer fails to provide hay or geotextile covering when required

• The installer fails to place stone where required or fails to provide sufficient stone

• The installer fails to provide end caps where required

• If you plan to dig or do any type of excavation work, NYS law requires that you call Dig Safely NY prior to doing so.

DIG SAFELY NY

WAIT THE REQUIRED TIME

• You need to provide two full working days notice prior to starting your work, not counting the day of your call, weekends or holidays. This provides time for the utilities to locate your proposed dig site.

CONFIRM UTILITY RESPONSE

• Dig Safely NY will notify all member utilities of the pending excavation so that they can come out and mark the location of their underground lines. Before digging on your stated commencement date, confirm that all utilities have responded to you indicating that they have marked your property or they have no facilities present.

RESPECT THE MARKS

• Before you begin your excavation, walk through the site to familiarize yourself with the markings and the location of the buried facilities.

DIG WITH CARE

• It is important excavators take a proactive approach to safety not only for themselves but for the public by initiating the One Call process and adhering to the five steps of a safe excavation.

SITE EVALUATION (SOIL CUT)

• ALL DESIGNED SYSTEMS WITHIN BROOME COUNTY REQUIRE A SOIL CUT EXCEPT ONE

• EXCEPTION: AERATION SYSTEM

• OBJECTIVE: TO DETERMINE SOIL CHARACTERISTICS, HIGH GROUNDWATER DEPTH, ROCK DEPTH & PERFORM FIELD INVESTIGATION FOR ONSITE SEPTIC SYSTEMS

SEPTIC TANK SIZESNumber of Minimum Tank Minimum LiquidBedrooms Capacity (gals) Surface Area (SF)1, 2 or 3 1,000 27

4 1,250 345 1,500 406 1,750 47

NOTE: Tank size requirements for more than six bedrooms shall be calculated by adding 250 gallons and 7 square feet of surface area for each additional bedroom. A garbage grinder or hot tub/spa should be considered equivalent to an additional bedroom for determining tank size.

Dual Compartment Concrete Septic Tank• Properly Operating

Dual Compartment Concrete Septic Tank• Needs Pumping

Typical Septic Tank Outlet Structure

LeachLines

Absorption Bed

Leach Pit

Subsurface Sand Filter w/ Cutoff Trench

Sand FilterTop View&CrossSectionView

Sand Filter Operation

Raised Bed System

Raised Bed System Top View

Chlorinator & Gravel Discharge Trench

Do’s & Don’ts• Top two photos

shows vertical edge to filter

• Bottom photos show that the distributor lines and underdrainsmust not protrude into the 24” of sand

• Sand Filter with ground water inside. This shows the need for a cut off trench. The depth of the trench will be lower than the bottom of the filter.

• Improper discharge trench, unsupported with no end cap.

• Incorrect End cap. Must be glued.

• Corrections made with proper end cap, straw for barrier and covering.

• Improper installation of discharge trench. It is mounded and will fail to the ground surface.

• Discharge trench is incorrectly placed on top of the crushed stone.

• Properly covered discharge trench

Aeration Authorization

The following aeration units are considered class I and are allowed

in Broome County

• Jet• Norweco• Multi flow

NSF/ANSI STANDARD 40Residential Wastewater Treatment Systems

AR System Design and Alarm

AERATION UNIT

JET AERATION UNIT

NORWECO AERATION UNIT

• Multi-Flo Aeration Unit

Aeration Discharge Trench

Field Sewage Inspection Form

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE YOU BEGIN OR

DURING CONSTRUCTION, PLEASE CALL US AT 778-2887

AND ASK TO SPEAK WITH SOMEONE IN THE SEWAGE

PROGRAM. DON’T MAKE THE MISTAKE OF CHANGING THE

DESIGN TO FIT THE SITE. THAT MAY COST YOU MONEY.